나전칠기와 옻칠 물성의 시지각적 정보 처리 특성과 미적 선호 형성 메커니즘에 관한 연구 = A Study on the Visual Information Processing Characteristics and Aesthetic Preference Formation Mechanisms of Najeonchilgi and Ottchil Materiality

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

(Background and Purpose) Najeonchilgi and Ottchil have long been regarded as representative traditional materials in Korean crafts and have primarily been interpreted through symbolic meanings, decorative values, and cultural narratives. While such approaches are effective in explaining historical and aesthetic significance, they provide limited insight into how material properties are perceptually processed within spatial environments and how these perceptual processes contribute to aesthetic preference. In contemporary spatial design, materials function not merely as ornamental surfaces but as critical design elements that shape visual attention, depth perception, and overall spatial experience. From this perspective, understanding how material properties operate as perceptual information becomes an essential issue. This study addresses this gap by reinterpreting the material properties of Najeonchilgi and Ottchil as structured visual information and by examining how such information is cognitively processed into aesthetic experience. (Method) This study adopts an interpretative research approach grounded in evolutionary aesthetics, neuro-aesthetics, and processing fluency theory. Rather than conducting empirical experiments, the research focuses on clarifying the conceptual relationships between material properties, visual perception, and cognitive response. Ottchil is examined through its optical characteristics, particularly high-gloss black surfaces that reduce visual noise and form low-entropy visual backgrounds, enabling perceptual clarity and stability. In contrast, Najeon is analyzed through its structural color, thin-film interference, and geometric patterning, which generate high-information visual stimuli characterized by variability, depth, and attentional engagement. These contrasting material conditions are interpreted as complementary perceptual roles within spatial environments. (Results) To structure this analysis, the study proposes an input–process–output framework. Material properties are positioned as perceptual inputs, visual and cognitive mechanisms as processing stages, and aesthetic preference as the experiential output. Within this framework, the study explains how bottom-up attention, visual–haptic association, and processing fluency function as sequential interpretative stages rather than experimentally verified neural activations. Neuroscientific concepts such as the default mode network are referenced at a theoretical level to describe conditions of reduced cognitive load, without claiming direct physiological measurement or empirical verification. (Conclusions) The findings suggest that the aesthetic value of Najeonchilgi and Ottchil does not arise solely from symbolic meaning or cultural familiarity but from the way their material properties organize visual information in forms that support efficient cognitive processing. By framing traditional materials as perceptual structures rather than decorative artifacts, this study provides a theoretical foundation for applying material properties strategically in spatial design. Ultimately, the research positions traditional Korean materials as active design components capable of shaping spatial experience through structured visual information processing.